Chapter 36

A/N

Here we go. Here we go.

Buckle up them chups cause we gonna hit the floor hard.

Marvel quote;

"How long have you been at  Kamar-Taj, Mister...?"

"Doctor."

"Mister Doctor?"

"It's Strange."

"Maybe. Who am I to judge?"

Zeeee exasperated Doctor Strange to the-what-is-up-with-his-eyes-in-every-movie-guy

~~@ @ @~~

A loud horn startled me to whirl around just in time to spot a car speeding across the busy street. 

What?

I gaze left to right in order to distinguish just where the hell I was. 

People walked along the roads, each in their own world as they stumbled around, finding their way. 

A few of them knocked into me and for half a second I attempt to side step, but then realized they were walking through me.

Mirror Projection.

Now. In my sleep.

A huge hotel was situated in front of me, the looming building bustling with life. I frown upon seeing it and only narrowed my eyes further, upon noticing a familiar figure walking into the hotel.

Steve?

"My mom tried to talk me out of enlisting," There's a blond woman speaking to him as they both entered the lobby. 

Stepping forward, I followed behind them, my curiosity getting the best of me.

Steve was wearing a black tuxedo that looked to be stretching the seams to its poor limits.

My brows knitted as I watch the pair head over to the elevator.

"But, um, not Aunt Peggy. She bought me my first thigh holster."

Aunt?

Steve smiled. The first genuine smile I saw on him since this who debacle started. "Very practical."

"And stylish." She added before pushing the button up. 

I think I knew what her name was now.

Sharon.

The nurse that lived across the hall.

The nurse Natasha tried setting up with Steve.

"CIA has you stationed over here now?" He asked her, raising an eyebrow.

She shrugs. "In Berlin, Joint Terrorism Task Force." 

"Right. Right. Sounds fun." Even I can tell he was clearly joking about it.

"I know, right?" She mocked and they both shared a laugh.

Something about that made my heart hurt.

I wasn't there for the funeral of course he would seek comfort somewhere else.

How can I blame him?

Biting my lip I was about to walk away when Steve began speaking again.

"I've been meaning to ask you. When you were spying on me from across the hall..."

Sharon gave a lopsided half-smile. "You mean when I was doing my job."

Steve sighs out loud. "Did Peggy know?"

That meant...

Aunt, Peggy.

Sharon was related to her.

I don't know if I should be shocked.

Its no wonder Steve was looking at her like she's his last life line.

"She kept so many secrets." She sighs. "I didn't want her to have one from you."

The elevator arrives with a ding and it opens. "Thanks for walking me back."

Steve looks on forlornly. "Sure."

They look at each other for a moment, but in that moment, my heart constricted, biting razor pain filling its every crevice. It was enough. 

You let him go first.

A voice hissed.

Shutting my eyes, I sighed tiredly.

He wasn't there to hold onto me.

"Steve." A new voice appears behind me and I whirl around to see Sam.

His face is troubled and I know it isn't good. "There's something you gotta see."

I didn't pay attention where they went because something else has caught my eye.

The news playing on a nearby television, suspended from the ceiling. 

"Earlier today in Vienna, Austria. A large bombing took place on the 22nd June 2016."

The TV showed the moment when the bomb exploded and what was left of it at the moment.

Black smoke and fire billowed out and I could only watch in horror.

"Police has confirmed that the bomb resided in a news van, just 10 meters, away from Vienna International Centre, where the signing of the Sokovian Accords took place."

My hand flew to my mouth and worry pounded in my chest. Was Natasha alright?

"More then 70 people were injured. At least 12 are dead. Including the Wakanda's King T'Chaka."

Oh my god. This was bad. This was very bad.

The King left for Vienna because when the bomb exploded in Lagos, 11 of his people died. He was there to commemorate peace and now he was dead.

"Officials have released a video of a suspect who they have identified as James Buchanan Barnes, the Winter Soldier."

The footage changed, revealing a black and white video of a man walking towards the van who stopped momentarily to watch the camera.

He had the same features and hair as Bucky but I know this was fake.

I knew my Protector like the back of my hand. This wasn't him. This was doctored. 

It had to be, I was with him this whole time. 

We spent the night... 

Sleeping. Just sleeping.

He held me close and didn't let go until he was sure I had stopped shaking.

"The infamous HYDRA agent, linked to numerous acts of terrorism and political assassinations."

Clenching my fingers, I felt my powers flare as though it could sense just how terrible things were about to get. I stared at it in anger, my fear and concern for my Protector overwhelming. 

"Why did you bring me here? To watch Steve with another woman? To tell me that the one person I have left is going to be hunted down?!"

Throughout the years, I've come to an agreement that my powers have their own emotions as well, so its not surprising that I would demand it to tell me; why?

"It is also unknown as to where Lorelie Brook Stark, also known as the Dark Witch resides at the moment."

Looking back at the TV, my mouth gaped wider.

On second thought.

"Officials are officially including her in the bombing of Vienna due to the relationship she shares with the Winter Soldier."

The TV changed and a footage of Washington comes on screen, showing the whole world the moments where the Dark Witch was still under the command of HYDRA.

"It is unclear where she is at the moment and her brother Tony Stark, remains quiet."

It felt like the whole world was collapsing on me.

They were pegging me as a suspect too?

My breathing became abnormal and my fingers began to shake.

Oh god. Oh god. Oh god.

This was a warning.

My abilities flared around, swirling in circles and before I could react, they envelope me whole nearly burning my heart out from the amount of force they used. 

I gasped awake, my hand flying to my fast beating heart. In the distance, sounds of cars and civilians are loud in my ears. I could feel and hear every single living thing.

Soldat.

Find Soldat. 

Panicked now, I stumble out of the springy mattress, stumbling on my two feet when the world continued to spin.

"Bucky?!" I shout, staring around the room, only to realize it was empty.

It was late afternoon, I must've fallen asleep for quite some time.

Striding over to the table, I found a note written just for me.

Went out to get food. I know you'd blame me if I don't.

~B

Fuck, now I officially won't.

Scrubbing my hair in panic, I threw on one of Bucky's large coats and flipped up the collars before making my way outside the busy streets.

I had to find him and get him to disappear. They'll never consider us as people to capture.

No.

They'll shoot to kill.

;-;-;-;-;-;-;-;-;-;-;-;-;-;-;-;-;-;

Head down.  

Don't act too nervous.

Be confident.

Don't draw any attention.

Training. I had training for this.

He said the market was somewhere nearby, I would assume he's there. He won't go too far. Not with a target still on his back.

Looking around, for any signs of a familiar figure I felt my heart drop when I saw none. There were too many people, too many eyes. Going out now would be a death sentence. 

"Come on, Come on," I mumbled, dodging past people and using the shade to hide my true identity.

I've walked several blocks and different shop lots before realizing there was no way I was going to find him without using my powers.

He wasn't HYDRA's best Assasin if he didn't know how to disappear.

Knowing him, he probably realized what was happening and was laying low until it was safe to come back to the apartment. 

Great, just what I needed right now. The more time we waste, the more time that gave the Government to find us. I had to get my Protector somewhere safe before that happened. 

There was no time to hesitate. 

Stopping beside a lamppost secluded in the corner, I took a deep breath and unravelled my right hand, feeling the beginnings of my abilities flare out through my fingertips.

The sharp twinge from the blue veins made me wince.

It hurt. 

Just before my abilities could fully come alive,  a hand shot out from somewhere beside me,  wrenching my body onto theirs so we were half hugging. 

I'm already throwing a punch before their gloved hand clasps over mine, stopping my actions. 

"Bucky..." I breathe out a sigh, worry seeping into my bones.

He lifts a finger to his lips and shakes his head, dark eyes flicking back to the civilians that are all around us. 

In this position, no one would even think twice about us considering we looked more like a couple that the world's most wanted fugitives. 

He was smart enough to make it look that way.

We move over to an abandoned alleyway all the while looking up and down for any signs of threats. Beside me, my Protector is rigid as he is unhinged. 

I'm already reaching for him, my hand grabbing hold of his.

"They said you're the one who bombed Vienna," I say. 

"I know," He nods, still anxious. His emotions were everywhere.

Concern. Worry. Fear. Confusion.

"Bucky--"

"I didn't do it," He cuts me off, halting me in my tracks with how much his voice shakes. The gloved hand clasped over mine tightened. I have to bite my lip from crying out because he held it so tightly.

"I haven't done anything, I'm not that person anymore."

"Bucky, I need you to calm down--"

"Ved'ma," He released my hand, going to cup my cheek to brush the hair away from my face. The eyes that stare back at me... takes my breath away. "Please, you have to believe me."

There's a storm building inside him. It's wrecking his will, pulling him down--drowning him.

"I know you didn't." My voice is low, yet it stuns him, as though I had screamed it to the high heavens. 

Slowly, I palm at the gloved hand on my cheek and smile. "How could you? I was with you this entire time."

His eyes softened, relief trickling in those dark blue eyes. He doesn't need to say it for me to know.

It's been a long time since anyone was on his side. 

"We need to go to Steve. He'll know what to do," I break away from his grip and tried to walk away in an attempt to figure out what our next step in the plan should be.  

"I can't do that," He says sternly, his entire posture defensive.

I whirl around, confused. "We don't have a choice. At least under Steve, you'll be safe, we can figure out who framed you and start from there."

"You know that's what they want," Bucky shakes his head, one hand raised. "I can't turn myself in." 

"They'll kill you!" I hissed, trying to get him to see common sense.

"I'm already dead if they catch me! You and I both know this isn't going to end with me locked up in a prison."

He was right. By god, I wish he wasn't.

"So what?" I said softly. "You're going to run?"

His features fall, sadness clouding over in those dark eyes. He hated running. Hated living like a sewer rat.

No one wanted a life like that and it made my soul shatter at the thought of my Protector forever running.

"You know Steve will try to help you," I tell him, making sure he understood exactly what I meant. "He'll never stop." 

Steve was probably going to stop the others from coming after him.

And if that happens, God knows what would happen to the rest of us.

I can't let them get dragged into this.

So I know what I have to do. 

Bucky's eyes flicker up to mine before he looks away, defeated. "It doesn't matter. I need to run."

Sighing loudly, I ran a hand through my brown hair and crossed my arms over my chest.

"Fine, then I'm going with you."

He grabs my shoulders and forces me closer, grip, bruising almost. "I'm not taking you with me," 

"I don't care," I snapped, shoving him aside. "They've already pegged me a suspect anyway since I disappeared."

God, I wanted the world to crash and burn for what they thought of us.

Couldn't they see we were victims?

My Protector looked like he was about to curse seven different ways until I force him down with a hard stare. 

"If there is a way out of this, I'll find it," I tell him, already thinking of a plan. "But first, we need to find a safe place to lay low. Once it's all clear, I'll come back to the team and find out more."

"I don't want you dragged into this." He hisses harshly, tone demeaning.

"And I'm telling you, that you don't have a choice!"

We stand silently in that alleyway, glowering at each other from where we stood.

"Bucky, you're on the Government's kill list. Steve will stop at nothing to save you. And when that happens, the people I love are going to fight with each other!"

My tone cracked in the end and I looked away, my fists clenching on their own accord.

My Protector remains quiet. 

Watching me with clear concern in those dark eyes.

Inhaling sharply, I refocused on the task at hand, pushing everything back about how I felt about my team to the farthest corner of my mind.

"You're one of the few people that I have left in this world," I tell him softly, almost sadly.

"Steve, Tony, the others... They're all important to me. So yes, if running with you means it will stop them--no save them, from themselves, then yes... I will."

I'll run to the farthest corner of the world and I'll keep on running if only to protect them. 

Raising my hands I cupped his face with care, making sure he knew exactly what I felt at the moment. He leaned into my touch, those dark eyes flickering shut.

"I can't lose any of you." I breathe in shakily. "Please, let me help you fix this."

I knew the risks of doing this. If I get caught I'd be seen as a fugitive from the law but I had no choice.

A new threat was brewing in the distance and it was a problem neither of us seemed to realize.

I can't let something like this kill off the last remaining link I have to my team.

I've always been a problem solver. I ran away because I didn't want to solve anybody's problems anymore.

But it seems I can't escape from it for too long.

So what if I was dying.

I should make the most out of it, shouldn't I?

And if that meant stopping my teammates from killing each other then I will.

Bucky sighed wearily and leaned towards my face, gently placing a kiss on my forehead.

It was a kiss that burned my skin in a good way and halts the breath in my throat. 

Pulling away, he nods, determination shining in those dark eyes.

"Fine. But you do, exactly as I say."

There he was.

My Protector.

The only one who knew my strategies and my actions.

He looks up and down the street once more before grabbing my wrist. "Come on,"

~~@ @ @~~

A/N

Okay Imma be honest here, :/

This sounds strangely what Steve would do to her but the problem is, he ain't here now is he?

Bucky is stealing my heart, JHC.

XD

Next few chapters are going to be... a...

Yeah, goodbye.

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